The following were on my mind between Monday, July 16th and Monday, July 23rd:
-Comic-Con 2012 is over, which means that it's time for my annual Most Anticipated Movies list, in which I reveal which films I am looking forward to the most in the next twelve months. I started this feature back in the summer of '09 during the very early days of its site, and now we're into the fourth year of this thing. Now, normally, this column would take place in early August, but I figured to do it a bit earlier this time around. This year's list has everything, from future blockbusters to expected Oscar contenders, so let's get started!
15. "World War Z" (06/21/2013)
This is a film that I'm interested in seeing not so much because of the content but because of how much I really want to see the end result of its many problems behind the scenes. Directed by Marc Forster ("Finding Neverland," "Quantum of Solace") and starring Brad Pitt (who is also listed as the film's executive producer), news from this zombie apocalypse horror film has made the entire project sound like a catastrophe, from its many "significant re-shoots" to the script having to be re-written by "Lost" creator Damon Lindelof to even news of Pitt giving Forster the silent treatment on set. Even the release date of this film has been pushed back many times, from an initial release date in December to when it's expected to release now, next summer. So, will this "Terra Nova" of the film industry turn out to be a pleasant surprise once the final product is finished, or will the events off-screen translate on the screen as well? We'll find out soon enough.
14. "To the Wonder" (No Official Release Date; Expected in Late 2012)
Two time Academy Award nominated director Terrence Malick is a man known to take its time when it comes to making movies, sometimes even taking twenty years to make his next film (like he did in between 1978's "Days of Heaven" and 1998's "The Thin Red Line"). This is why it's such a pleasant surprise to hear news of a new Malick film expected to be released just over a year after the previous effort, as is the case with "To the Wonder." Fresh off what is arguably his masterpiece (the Oscar nominated "The Tree of Life"), the films star Ben Affleck as Neil, a philanderer who ends up agreeing to a green card marriage with an Eastern European woman, only to have that complicated with feelings for a longtime acquaintance named Jane (played by Rachel McAdams). "To the Wonder" also co-stars such famous names as Javier Bardem, Michael Sheen, Jessica Chastai, and Rachel Weisz, and is rumored to be more experimental than "The Tree of Life," which is really saying something.
13. "Cloud Atlas" (10/26/2012)
The upcoming book adaptation boasts a very impressive cast (Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, and Susan Sarandon, among others), and is a co-effort between "Run Lola Run" director Tom Tykwer and The Wachowski brothers. Honestly, that's good enough to get me interested, even if it isn't the movie that I want to see on the very date it's premiering...
12. "Skyfall" (10/26/2012)
...This is because on the same date of the "Cloud Atlas" premiere, the brand-new James Bond film "Skyfall" will his theaters as well. As someone who's of the opinion that the films with Daniel Craig have seen some of the best in the 007 franchise in years, there was no doubt about my excitement to see it from the beginning it was announced. The fact that it also stars Javier Bardem and features Sam Mendes as the director is just the icing on the cake.
11. "Pacific Rim" (07/12/2013)
It's Guillermo Del Torro's upcoming giant robots vs. giant monsters epic, and he's bringing along his friends Ron Pearlman, Idris Elba, Charlie Hunman, and...Charlie Day?!?! Well, in that case, I certainly hope that this fiction world happens to have kitten mittens in them!
10. "Looper" (09/28/2012)
A sci-fi with an intriguing premise: what happened when a 2047 "looper" (people who kill and dispose enemies of a mafia in 2077) named Joseph Simmons is ordered to kill a version of himself from thirty years into the future, yet allows him to escape free. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis star as the two Simmons', with Gordon-Levitt reportedly having to need three hours of prosthetic make-up a day while on set in order to play his part. Rian Johnson is the director, and while I have yet to watch any of his previous work (most notably "Brick" and "The Brothers Blossom"), I've heard some pretty positive things about them. Honestly, I would not be surprised if, when 2012 is over, it's this film and not the hyped up "Prometheus" as this year's most memorable work of science fiction.
9. "Lincoln" (11/09/2012)
After spending the past summer vampire hunting, the 16th president of the United States returns to the big screen, hopefully this time in a much more...historically accurate portrayal. Based on the biography by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Steven Spielberg is set to present a film recounting the final months of the legendary executive's life, from the Union victory of the Civil War and abolition of all slaves to him tragic death at the hands of John Wilkes Booth. Daniel Day-Lewis will star as Lincoln in a role that will almost assuredly land him his fifth Oscar nomination and perhaps his unprecedented third Oscar victory. The film is going to receive a ton of critical acclaim and will be mentioned a lot during awards season, so I'm probably gonna watch it just to see what all the fuss will be.
8. "Zero Dark Thirty" (12/19/2012)
Nearly three years after winning Best Director for "The Hurt Locker," Kathryn Bigelow returns to the big screen to present this film about the special operations team sent to kill Osama bin Laden in May 2011. The film should be worth the time to watch, if only to watch film co-star Kyle Chandler ("Friday Night Lights") nod his head in disapproval and provide a stern, but caring lecture to the Al Qaeda members at the compound (before he guns them down, of course).
7. "Argo" (10/12/2012)
Ben Affleck directs this film about the rescue mission to save six U.S. foreign service members in Tehran during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, a film which also includes Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Kyle Chandler as his co-stars. Honestly, Affleck's previous work as director ("Gone, Baby, Gone," "The Town") are good enough to convince me that this film might be good, and the really well-done trailer certainly is a plus.
6. "Man of Steel" (06/14/2013)
It's Superman, back on the big screen, with Christopher Nolan as one of the masterminds behind the story. What more needs to be said about why I can't wait for it?
5. "Monsters University" (06/21/2013)
Pixar's back in the sequel game yet again. This time, it's the beloved "Monsters, Inc." who will be the next to follow down that path (with "Finding Nemo 2" and "Toy Story 4" in the works, apparently). The film is planned as a prequel, as we follow the adventures of Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman) during their college days as they plan to become scarers of the corporation of which they end of meeting "Boo" in the first film. Hopefully this film should convince me that Pixar is able to make a great non-"Toy Story" sequel after the failure that was "Cars 2."
4. "Life of Pi" (11/21/2012)
Oscar buzz has been associated with this film adaptation of the 2001 book of the same name ever since ten minutes of footage was first shown to CinemaCon earlier this year, and whether or not the finished product ends up meeting these incredibly high expectations, one thing is for sure: will Ang Lee, that could always be a possibility.
3. "Django Unchained" (12/25/2012)
I've been waiting for this film to come out ever since the title was leaked to the press. How could I not? Quentin Tarantino, one of my favorite directors, has written and directed this film, almost everyone that I've heard who has read the script loves it and calls it one of Tarantino's best work to date, and the cast is solid (Jamie Foxx, Leonard DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Walton Goggins, and Samuel L. Jackson, to name a few). The only thing to convince me in not being so very excited would be the teaser trailer, but I am confident that this trailer is just like the trailer for "Hugo" last year, which misled in its quality. But, yeah, I have a good feeling on where I'm spending my Christmas.
2. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (12/14/2012)
Peter Jackson returns to Middle Earth to adapt the "Lord of the Rings" prequel into the big screen. That's...pretty much it.
1. "The Master" (10/12/2012)
If you're going to release a film that would make me more excited than "The Hobbit" and f*cking Quentin Tarantino, you're gonna have to have a few things. First, another great director needs to be involved (P.T. Anderson). Second, there needs to be some great actors (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams). Third, the premise of the film has to be interesting (Hoffman's character forms a religious cult post-WWII). And finally, there needs to be at least some chance that it will Oscar-level great (the film has received all that and then some). "The Master" has all of these things.
-Geez, no wonder Warner Bros. decided to pull this trailer from theaters. It's like all those "Spider-Man" movie poster with the Twin Towers post 9/11. It just wouldn't be right. I obviously wouldn't pull this scene from the actual film, though. Seems like a very pivotal moment in it to be taken away.
- I wonder if the NCAA punishments given to Penn State were too much. I mean, sure, what Jerry Sandusky and the individuals who kept his horrendous discretions a secret did were terrible. That said, I don't think it makes sense to punish them this harshly, especially since it mostly hurts people who had no involvement in the events that led up to the $60M fines and the vacating of 14 years of win. It just seems like the NCAA was just punishing Penn State the institution, and not Penn State the football program, which in itself did nothing wrong where cheating and illegal gifts to recruits are concerned.
-To the people who think that the terrible shooting in Aurora would've been prevented if there were more people with guns: So, you really think that in a smoke filled room with people running away in panic, you would have been able to use a gun to easily shoot at a moving targets without getting innocent civilians hurt as well? Yeah,. that makes sense.
-To the Kodak company, I bet that the popularity of Instagram feels like a slap in the face.
See you next Monday!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
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